[nabs-l] Questions About Getting New Laptop

Mon Jun 20 13:45:24 UTC 2011

HOw?

On Jun 20, 2011, at 9:01 AM, Rania Ismail CMT wrote:

> My laptop was $800 but I got it for $600
> Rania,
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Kerri Kosten
> Sent: Monday, June 20, 2011 2:00 AM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list; T. Joseph Carter
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Questions About Getting New Laptop
> 
> Hi All!
> 
> Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it!
> 
> I want to hopefully bring this new laptop to my upcoming trip to
> Florida to visit some family so I think I am going to just go for
> windows and maybe get a mac later when I know I'll have more time to
> spend learning voiceover.
> 
> I did a quick search on Amazon for the I7 laptops and the cheapest
> prices I can find are in the $800 range.
> 
> What kind of budget/price should I go for? I guess the more you pay
> the better...are the more expensive I7 processor high end laptops
> worth it over the much cheaper I3 ones?
> 
> I don't want to be so cheap I get a crappy laptop but at the same time
> I don't want to get something that is overpriced and I end up getting
> screwed.
> 
> For those who have purchased laptops recently did you go for the
> cheaper lower end or the more expensive higher end models?
> 
> I don't mind spending the money for something good but I also don't
> want to spend a ton on something and get screwed.
> 
> Thanks!
> Kerri
> 
> On 6/19/11, T. Joseph Carter <carter.tjoseph at gmail.com> wrote:
>> For a JAWS user or Window Eyes user, the Mac is going to take a
>> little getting used to, but other than learning the new screen
>> reader, it functions basically as you'd expect it to.  The option to
>> use a virtual machine to run Windows exists on a Mac as well, and you
>> will find the MacBook Air in particular a joy to carry after lugging
>> around a larger, heavier laptop.
>> 
>> Most ultralight PCs are cheap netbooks and pretty sluggish.  They've
>> got going for them the size and usually also the weight, but they
>> sacrifice much in terms of function to do it.  The difference between
>> the MacBook Air and a more conventional laptop is that it's missing
>> optical drive and ethernet port.  And that it weighs half as much!  I
>> personally can't imagine carrying anything else anymore.
>> 
>> If you don't mind the heavier laptop, all the advice about what to
>> look for in a good laptop (i7 being more battery efficient than i3,
>> etc.) applies to Macs as well.
>> 
>> The one thing that will take getting used to if you use Windows your
>> Mac (either via BootCamp or virtual machine) is the keyboard.  You
>> will find that the Alt and Windows keys are reversed.  The keyboard
>> is basically done the way Mac keyboards have been for ages-it's just
>> that Apple and Microsoft happen to put the "alternative function" and
>> "vendor logo function" keys in opposite locations.  I've gotten used
>> to using Windows that way.  To me it's no different from using the
>> Control key versus the Command key for cut/copy/paste.  I just do
>> what's appropriate in the environment I'm using pretty automatically.
>> 
>> Joseph
>> 
>> 
>> On Sun, Jun 19, 2011 at 07:55:28PM -0400, Kerri Kosten wrote:
>>> Hi Everyone!
>>> 
>>> Well, after five years, it looks like I am going to have to get a new
>>> laptop.
>>> 
>>> I haven't had to look for a laptop in like five years so I had some
>>> questions.
>>> 
>>> First, from an accessibility/screenreader standpoint what is better
>>> windows or Mac? Was the switch to mac from windows hard? Was voiceover
>>> easy to get used to? Do you like your mac better than windows? I've
>>> been told macs don't get viruses or have spyware and they seem a lot
>>> more durable. I have a friend who says he has had one for three years
>>> (he isn't blind) and he says other than spending some money on a
>>> bigger hard drive and paying $25 for one of the new OS updates (I
>>> believe it was snow lepoard) he said it works just as fast and
>>> everything as it did the day he got it. It seems with windows the life
>>> is only around four or five years old. Sighted people are telling me
>>> to go with mac but I know the world is still largely dominated by
>>> windows.
>>> 
>>> For windows users who have purchased laptops recently what things did
>>> you look for in the laptop? What brands are people using with the
>>> windows screenreaders? I found a Tasheba satellite on Amazon.com for
>>> $479...it is usually $780 but has been on sale for $479. It has an I3
>>> processor, 4 gigs of ram, 640 gig hard drive, and a 15 inch screen not
>>> that that matters to me. Supposedly the battery lasts for five hours.
>>> I was going to just go with this one but i noticed it is rated 3
>>> starrs on the customer reviews and I wonder why it has dropped so much
>>> in price on Amazon. is anyone else using a tasheba and are they good?
>>> What things did you look for in you're laptop before purchasing it?
>>> 
>>> The laptop I will likely get has Windows 7 and is 64 BIT. Is there any
>>> big bugs I should know about with 64 BIT, Windows 7, and Jaws? Do you
>>> like windows 7 overall? Is it better than windows vista? My old hp
>>> laptop had windows vista on it and my netbook (which I am typing this
>>> on) has windows XP.
>>> 
>>> Even if Rehab or some other source purchased your laptop, I am
>>> noticing most of the new ones have similar specks:Windows 7, a 500 gig
>>> or bigger hard drive, I 3 and up processor, 4 gigs of ram. How fast
>>> are these? My laptop is so old I'm kind of excited and curious to hear
>>> about how fast the latest laptops with these new and improved specks
>>> are.
>>> 
>>> Thanks!
>>> Kerri
>>> 
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